Campaign Snapshots |

Todd Palin is refusing to testify in an abuse-of-power probe of his wife, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

He had been subpoenaed to appear today before Alaska lawmakers to testify as to whether Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan was fired because he refused to dismiss a state trooper who had gone through a bitter divorce with Sarah Palin's sister.

Ed O'Callaghan, a spokesman for John McCain's campaign, said Thursday that Todd Palin no longer believes the Legislature's investigation is legitimate.

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A key lawmaker says the stonewalling of witnesses is likely to stall the probe until after Election Day.

Sarah Palin at first welcomed the investigation but opposes it now as the Republican candidate for vice president. Associated Press

Biden criticizes McCain on the economy

Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden on Thursday called John McCain's answers to the current economic crisis “the ultimate bridge to nowhere” and said paying higher taxes would be patriotic for wealthier Americans.

Biden said the GOP presidential nominee is out of touch with average people's problems, comments designed to resonate with voters in economically troubled northeast Ohio and keep pressure on McCain during a week of bad news from U.S. markets and financial institutions.

Biden's two-day bus trip in the region includes stops in areas devastated by thousands of job losses in manufacturing and the auto industry. With the economy a top concern in Ohio, polls were tight in this essential swing state.

“John McCain's answers for the economy — and we're in such desperate shape — is the ultimate bridge to nowhere,” Biden told an audience of 2,500 on a turf field outside the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The reference to the infamous Alaska project dubbed “the Bridge to Nowhere” was a dig at Sarah Palin, who supported building the bridge until Congress moved to kill it. She has since claimed she stopped the project. The state diverted the money to other projects.

In an interview on ABC's “Good Morning America,” Biden said wealthier taxpayers would indeed pay more under the proposals of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Under his plan, people earning more than $250,000 a year would pay more in taxes while those earning less – the vast majority of taxpayers – would receive a tax cut. Associated Press